


Die Hard Movie Nights

by sherlylikeswaffles



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Flashback fic, Fluff, Future Fic, die hard - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-05-31 22:37:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15129257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlylikeswaffles/pseuds/sherlylikeswaffles
Summary: "Die Hard" has always been important to Jake and when he finally gets to show his favorite movie to his children, he and Amy remember their first time watching "Die Hard" together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, this fic is kind of doomed from the start because I have exams coming up for the next two weeks and I have so many other projects I should write but I got some really sweet comments on my B99 fics and I felt like...what the heck...I want to post this fic tonight. So enjoy and please leave a comment! I hope I can update soon but I won't promise anything.

“Ginny? John? Are you ready?!” Jake asked in a high pitched voice. Extremely excited, he bounced up and down on the couch. He had been waiting for this very day for many, many years. But Amy had always insisted that their children had to be at least ten years old before Jake was allowed to show them his favorite movie of all time. So finally, the day had come. John had turned ten the day before and they had celebrated his birthday with a huge dinosaur-themed party.

 

Today was a Saturday and the kids were allowed to stay up late. John's older sister Ginny was twelve years old and she had been begging her parents to let her watch Die Hard since the very first time she had heard her dad mention it. However, Jake actually agreed with Amy that it would be rude towards John if Ginny got to watch it without him, so Ginny had to wait two more years than necessary. Now, she sat on the couch next to her dad and stared eagerly at the TV screen. The menu and background music were already on. John looked a little skeptical because he preferred Disney movies over actions flicks. Just in case the movie turned out to be too scary, he had sat down on the edge of the couch, ready to jump up at any moment. 

 

“Yes, dad!” John and Ginny replied in unison to their father's question. 

 

“Amy, are you sure you want to miss this?” Jake asked his wife one last time. 

 

Amy was sitting in the kitchen, the New York Times crossword in front of her, and smiled to herself at Jake's excitement. 

 

“Babe, I'm sure. I've already watched it way too many times,” she laughed. 

 

“You can't watch Die Hard too many times, Ames! And nothing beats the first time. Do you remember your first time?” 

 

“Jake,” Amy rolled her eyes, “of course, I remember the first time I watched Die Hard very well.”

 

“Kids,” Jake said in his story-teller voice, “we watched it together. It was the very first time that we hung out alone together. If it weren't for that night, maybe you two would never have been born…,” Jake mused jokingly. 

 

A big smile spread across Amy's face and without really noticing what she was doing, she got up and walked into the living room. 

 

“Jake, just start the movie.” Amy said as she sat down next to her husband.

 

Jake smiled and put his arm around her. And then the whole Santiago-Peralta family watched Die Hard. 

 

"See, Ginny loves Die Hard. I raised her right!" Jake told Amy proudly later that night as they were lying in bed next to each other. 

Amy laughed. "Yeah, I noticed that. Once again, John is more like me which is ironic since he's named John after John McClane."

"Maybe he'll eventually start to love it…"

"He's too young to understand how important it is to you and to just go along with it and pretend like he loves it as well." Amy suggested. 

"Yeah...I guess...You're so good at pretending to love Die Hard that I sometimes forget that you actually don't like it."

"Jake, it's just not my kind of movie…,” Amy said apologetically. 

"Yeah, I know...it's fine, babe. We can't always love the same things. And your knowledge of Die Hard is way more impressive than my knowledge of “the theater”,” Jake said.

"That's okay, Jake,” Amy rested her head against Jake's chest and asked: “You were kidding, right, when you said that it all started with our Die Hard movie night?” 

“Well, I definitely liked you even before that. But before our movie night we really didn't hang out outside of work much. We were just colleagues but the fact that you sat through all Die Hard movies with me made me really appreciate you as a friend.”

“Yeah, that's true, I guess. I mean I thought it was pretty weird that your motivation to become a cop was some stupid action movie but then we watched it and I...you know...I finally got you. It definitely brought us two closer together.”

“You remember my failed “yippie kajak, motherfucker” moment?” 

“Yeah,” Amy grinned as she remembered that particular incident.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback: Jake annoys Amy with Die Hard references. So she finally gives in and agrees to watch it with him.

“Santiago,“Jake had whispered, leaning against the dusty wall in a corridor above a Chinese restaurant, which had at least a dozen health code violations. “Can I go in first and scream “Yippie kajak, motherfucker“?“

“What?” Amy asked. She was so confused that she forgot to whisper. “What are you talking about?” She added more quietly. 

“Like John McClane. This could be my chance of getting my John McClane moment!” Jake explained as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. Well, to him, it was. 

Amy rolled her eyes in annoyance. Peralta and his stupid Die Hard references. The first time he had mentioned John McClane, Amy had assumed he was a real person and she had been confused that Jake showed such great respect towards him. But when he mentioned him a few more times, she had decided to google him. Just a fictional character. The fact that John McClane used to be a member of the NYPC, even a fictional one, should probably make Amy like that guy. But she had never liked movies whose plots could be summarized by a single sentence. 

“Oh, right, I forgot that you've never watched Die Hard!” Jake replied, implying for the hundredth time that she really should have watched it by now.

“I told you to stop with the Die Hard references. I don't make references to stuff you don't know,” Amy argued. Once she had made a Hamlet reference and Jake had assumed that she was talking about the Lion King. 

Jake wanted to say something else. But then they got a message from the Sarge through the comm: “Peralta, Santiago, all clear. You're up!”

“Copy that,” Amy replied and motioned for Jake to go ahead.

Jake jumped against the closed door. He wined. But it didn't open. He tried it with a kick, but again nothing happened. “Damn it!” he cursed. 

“Together?” Amy suggested with a grin. 

Jake nodded. Together they managed to bust the door open but the element of surprise was gone. The perps had escaped.

“They are gone,” Amy said through the comms.

 

Back at the precinct, Charles was standing in front of Jake's desk and listening to his friend's complaints: “It could've been my John McClane moment and I ruined it. Santiago had to help me get this damn door open.”

“Oh, no, Jake, that was so close! Don't worry! You'll get your special moment.” Charles replied and looked at Jake pitifully. 

Amy was listening closely. Jake had been so distraught about the fact that he hadn't managed to bust the door open on his own that she hadn't even felt like making fun of him. But so far, she couldn't quite make out what he exactly meant with “John-McClane-moment”. Jake had tried to summarize the plot of all five movies to her several times but he had been so excited about it that she couldn't quite understand what was so important and amazing about these movies. And during the past year of being Jake's partner, she had never found the time nor the motivation to watch the movies. 

But the constant references Jake made to his favorite movie were really pissing her off. And now this, Jake nearly cried and she couldn't understand what was exactly going on. Amy highly doubted that Jake would be able to stop making Die Hard references, no matter how many times she asked him to do so.   
Charles left Jake's desk a few minutes later and Amy saw her chance to ask Jake something in private: “Peralta, I can't believe you are making me do this.”

His eyes widened in surprise and before he had time for a stupid comment, she continued: “But could you please lend me your Die Hard VHS or DVDs?”

A huge grin spread across Jake's face. The kind of grin that looked like it was too big for his face. He was such a dork, Amy thought. But then she stopped herself. She shouldn't have thoughts like that about Jake. She liked her partner, sure. But she most definitely didn't like like her partner. He was just a work friend, not even a friend friend. But if Die Hard was the most important thing in his life, she had to show some interest in it as well. Of course, that was the only reason…

“Amy Santiago!” Jake practically shouted her name and leaned closer toward her. “Are you finally going to watch the world's best cop movie?”

Amy felt like she might regret her next words at some point but she said them anyway: “Yes. I'd like to finally get what you are so fascinated by. So can you give them to me tomorrow?”

“No way!” Jake replied immediately. 

“Okay,” Amy said, a little confused. But she figured that the DVDs had a very special value to Jake and he didn't want anyone else to use them. In fact, she realized that she probably wouldn't let Jake borrow her hard cover edition of Harry Potter. She wouldn't know in what condition she would get them back. “I'll just go to the library then. I wanted to go there soon anyway...”

“No!” Jake interjected, “I mean...of course, you can use my DVDs, but I think you shouldn't watch them on your own. Tonight! Movie night at my place. It will be so much fun.”

“Tonight tonight?” Amy replied, totally take aback, “Today is Thursday. We've got work tomorrow!” Amy wasn't exactly worried about the lack of sleep but tonight was just too spontaneous. A movie night required a certain level of preparation, appropriate clothes, snacks and beverages. And the answer to the question: What the hell had she gotten herself into?

“Okay, then. If you wanna watch all of them at once...how about tomorrow night then?” Jake wanted to know. 

“What all of them at once? Five movies?” Amy's eyes widened. What did she do?

“Yes, a proper movie night!” Jake exclaimed excitedly. 

“No, that really seems too much for one night. I mean how am I going to really enjoy them when I'm terribly tired?” 

“Good point,” Jake nodded, “then maybe, we'll start with the first two and then we'll see?”

“Sounds good. Should I maybe bring pizza?” Amy suggested. 

“Yeah, that would be awesome.”

“Okay, cool,” Amy pulled out her calendar and wrote it down. That made it official. She was having a movie night with Jake Peralta. And she realized in that moment that she and Jake have never hung out alone outside of work. But how different could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to post shorter chapters but more frequently. I hope I can update at least twice a week. Please leave a comment!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...Amy visits Jake for their first movie night together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go...as promised it took me a while to update. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a comment!

So after work Amy went over to Jake's apartment. She had two pizzas, three different bags of chips and a small bucket full of candy with her. At the store, she had considered getting healthier options but she knew Jake's disturbing eating habits far too well and he might have taken it as personal offense if she showed up with dried fruits instead of gummy bears. 

“Santiago, long time no see!” Jake greeted her and opened the door widely. For a moment, she wasn't sure how to react to his greeting. They never hugged or shook hands at work and often their greetings in the morning were nothing more than a mumbled “mornin'”. 

So she said “Hi, Peralta,” and did an awkward wave. Why did she do that? She wanted to punch herself in the face immediately. But Jake didn't seem to care. 

The first thing she noticed as she walked into his apartment was that he had tried to tidy it up. The emphasis was on “tried”. He had thrown all his clothes into his dresser in his bedroom and it partly stuck out and he had forgotten to close his bedroom door. The dishes were washed, but not dried and put away. And in a huge basket next to the TV were dozen of letters. Amy decided not to comment on any of these things. 

“Have a seat. I'll grab us some beers,” Jake said. 

So Amy placed the two pizzas on the couch table and kicked her shoes off before she sat down on the couch. She smiled as she saw that Jake had placed two blankets next to her. He knew how cold she usually was. Amy grabbed one and wrapped it around herself. 

“Here”, Jake entered again and gave her an opened bottle of beer. 

“Thanks”, Amy took a sip and opened the first pizza box. Jake went to get two plates, which were still a little wet, and then he sat down next to her. Close enough that they could easily share the food but not so close that they were touching each other. 

“I'm so glad we are finally doing this!” Jake exclaimed and without further ado he turned on his TV and started the movie. 

“Oh, this looks really old!” Amy said, surprised at herself that she hadn't researched the release date before. She knew that it was an older movie, but she hadn't realized that it was this old!

“It's a real classic!” Jake replied enthusiastically. 

So it began, John McClane arrived in Los Angeles. Amy took her first slice of pizza and tried to make out what made this movie so great. In the meantime, Jake commented on everything. He pointed out what kind of car Argyle was driving and how much he loved the soundtrack. He told her that he owned a tank top just like McClane did but that he wasn't quite sure if he could pull it off. He commented on every single weapon and action sequence. And whenever John McClane said something, Amy could see Jake mouth along the lines in the corner of her eye. 

“Do you always talk this much during movies?” Amy asked, a little irritated. It wasn't like that much was happening on screen and Jake's running commentary wasn't really distracting her. But still, she was so used to watching movies alone that it was hard to drown out Jake's voice. 

“Oh sorry, I'll shut up,” Jake promised. And he did shut up. But only for like three seconds. Then he breathed: “This is so cool!”

Amy didn't comment on that any further but she also didn't really know how to comment on the movie itself. So she just watched it in silence. Occasionally laughing at what Jake said. 

It went on like that until the final credits when Jake recapped the best bits for her again. Once the credits were over, Jake turned toward her and asked: “Aaaaaand? What do you think?”

Amy didn't know what to say. Die Hard might be a good movie. But it just wasn't the kind of movie she enjoyed. But telling Jake that would break his heart. She had to lie. And she had to lie well. Not necessarily one of her best skills but for this, she just had to pull it off. 

“It's awesome. So awesome,” she said with her biggest smile. 

“It truly is!” Jake agreed. “What was your favorite part?” He wanted to know. 

“Uhm…,” Amy said and told herself “lie faster, you dumbass”. “The...uhm...it's so hard. It's just awesome. I can't pick a favorite part.”

“Yeah..I have a lot of moments I love but by far the best is...”

Amy yawned. Intentionally. She really couldn't talk any more about this movie without letting Jake know that she didn't absolutely love it. 

“You're tired? Already?”Jake sounded disappointed but he also tried to keep himself from yawning. 

“What? Yeah, I'm so sorry...I know we wanted to watch two movies tonight. But I think I've had enough for now. I mean it was fun but one is enough for one night and uhm...”

“Amy," Jake said, suddenly very serious, "you really don't have to pretend to like it if you...you know...don't actually like it. I know I can be a pain in the ass when it comes to Die Hard. But I probably don't like all your favorite movies...actually I don't even know... what is your favorite movie?" 

Amy smiled. It was true, she never made any references to her favorite movie because she was a little embarrassed by it. She knew she shouldn't be because it's an amazing movie but somehow it was also such a girly movie.   
Jake would definitely make fun of her because of that. 

“Legally blonde,” she blurred out. 

“Amy Santiago,” Jake said in a booming voice, "loves chick flicks!"

“Chick flicks...no what does that even mean? No, I love hilarious comedies about female empowerment!”

“I don't judge! Legally blonde is amazing. Gina actually made me watch it with her in the cinema. I just thought you'd be more into those movies where a lot of reading is involved..."

“You mean, foreign movies with subtitles...yeah, I like them, too,” Amy explained. 

Jake grinned: “Of course, you do.” For a moment he just looked at her and Amy wondered what this was all about. Then he said: “You're pretty cool.”

“Thanks,” Amy replied, completely taken aback. No one had ever called her cool. 

“And it was very nice of you that you watched a whole movie because of me, even though you didn't like it.”

“No, no, that's not true. I liked it. A lot,” Amy said immediately. 

“Then what was your favorite part?” Jake asked again.

This time Amy just said the first thing that came to her mind: “When Holly punched that journalist.”

“I thought so,” Jake smirked, “Are you sure you can't stay for the second one?”

“Yeah, I'm sure, Peralta. But maybe some other time?” Amy asked. And wondered what she was getting herself into. Another movie night with Jake? Another Die Hard movie? Why would she want that? 

“I'd like that,” Jake replied and guided her to the door. 

“Good night, Jake,” Amy said and again, she wasn't sure if she should hug him or not. 

“Good night, Amy,” he said. And maybe Amy was just imagining things but it seemed like he also considered hugging her. Apparently, he decided against it and said: “See you on Monday.”


End file.
